


Walk of the Past

by LCampbellFE



Category: Original Work
Genre: Fiction, Original work - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-12
Updated: 2021-02-12
Packaged: 2021-03-18 14:14:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 524
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29369847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LCampbellFE/pseuds/LCampbellFE
Summary: Another piece I wrote back in 2017 when I was in my first year of university. It's a very short story that I remember wanting to surround the oldest tree in the world, which was in Poland at the time (I have no clue if the Bartek tree is still the oldest in the world). The ending made me sad.





	Walk of the Past

The golden rays of the bright sun spreads out over the forest, warming up the tall trees and ground that is wet from the rain that had fallen earlier in the day. My powder blue rubber boots sink into the muddy ground with a soft squish as I walk along the clear path. The smell of rain fills me up, reminding me of the life that blooms after the fresh fall. It brings back memories of when my brother and I would come out to the forest to play. 

The two of us would run through the foliage, the sun on our skin, the wind whistling in our ears and flying bugs hitting our faces. We would spend hours climbing low branches of old oak trees of many kinds. There was a clear area, way out in the middle of the forest, where the grass was long and there was nothing else but beautiful bluebells, white primrose and wild daffodils, along with a great old Bartek tree in the very centre. The two of us would imagine what it would be like to see the great tree of 1,200 years long ago when great kings would camp underneath it on their travels. 

We would sit on the topmost branches and watch the clouds go by. All around us were bluebirds, gray jays, Cape May warblers and so many more birds, mixing their songs, reminding us that in this forest, we can only see a small part of it. There was a whole ecosystem living in this place! All we are able to see is just a small piece of a greater way of living. Yet through this small piece of earth, there are hundreds of types of life living harmoniously. 

My brother and I had gone to the Bartek tree every year since we found it when we were kids. No matter what the weather was, burning hot sun, pouring rain, or a hard, cold blowing winter day, we showed up at this tree. The old tree among the sweet smelling flowers was our safe place to go. There was only one case when we couldn’t go. Brother had gotten horribly sick and was to go to the hospital. It was during that time when I visited the most, wishing for my brother to be healthy again. 

Along the path are trees reaching high up to the sky, reaching for the rays of life that help them grow. Their leaves of bright green dancing in the gentle cool breeze, some falling to the growing life on the forest ground. In this empty forest, the growing nature shows that through the passing of so many years, no matter how rough, you can continue on and reach for the brightness above. The aging trees, the bright flowers, the sweet song of the birds, the gentle breeze, our Bartek tree, our forest. It’s all a memory of our remarkable childhood and will forever hold a safe place in my heart. As for my brother, it is his final resting place and I know our forest will be more beautiful than ever with him as its guardian. 


End file.
